Thermal insulating window structures



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THERMAL INSULATING WINDOW STRUCTURES Filed Oct. 4, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. M/LA s,

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THERMAL INSULATING WINDOW STRUCTURES Filed Oct. 4, 1963 8 2 Sheets-Sheet2 FIG. 4.

3 6 fj Ff VI I A 4d? 5 9 9e 40 4 M INVENTOR 9g 9 WfliPEA/ 4. M/LLSUnited States Patent 3,252,260 THERMAL INSULATING WINDOW STRUCTU WarrenL. Mills, 5742 Maryland Ave., Chicago, 111. 60637 Filed Oct. 4, 1963,Ser. No. 313,935 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-497) This invention relates to novelthermal insulating window structures resembling glass-block Windows,which are composed of window elements each composed of .a pair ofregistered panels, novel means of assembling registered panels andadjacent window elements, and.

novel means for mounting the assembled windows in wall openings.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of efficient andpractical window structures of the kind indicated, which are cheaperthrough adaptability for mass production, are more easily and quicklyassembled and installed in window openings than glass-block windowstructures, and whose components are lighter in weight and are moreeasily and economically transportable than the components of glasswindow structures.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention willbe apparent from the following description and the accompanyng drawings,wherein, for purposes of illustration only, specific forms of theinvention are set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing one form of windowstructure of the present invention, installed in a window opening in abrick wall;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical transverse section taken on the line 22of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal section, on the scale of FIGURE 2, taken on theline 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of a pair of window elementpanels;

FIGURE 5 is a further enlarged fragmentary perspective view of anassociated pair of panel assembling members and a self-threading screwtherefor;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded horizontal section showing a pair of panelspreliminary to being snapped together;

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal section taken through another form of windowstructure of the present invention showing the same installed in awindow of a wall;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of an assembly member and a screw,involved in the structure of FIGURE 7.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and first to FIG- URES 1 to 6thereof, a wall W is shown, which is composed of outer and innerelements 10 and 12, respectively, having a space 14 therebetween,through which a window opening 16 is formed, in which is installed awindow structure 18, in accordance with the .present invention.

The window structure .18 is composed of a plurality, here shown as four,panels 20, each composed of a pair of registered inside and outsidepanels 22 and 24, respectively. These panels, while being capable ofbeing made of glass, are preferably made of light-weight translucentplastic materials, in the interest of substantially lower productioncosts, greater ease of transportation and handling, and substantialreduction in installation costs because installation thereof does notrequire costly and highlyskilled labor.

As shovm in FIGURES 2 to 4 and 6, the inner and outer panels '22, 24 areof substantially the same square or rectangular shape and are composedof relatively thin outer walls 26, 28, respectively, which, in theirouter surfaces, are formed with parallel and intersecting vertical andtransverse grooves 30, 32,'which divide the panels into rectangularpanes 34. These grooves are provided to "ice receive calking compound ormortar, for more realistic simulation of glass blocks.

The outer walls 26, 28 of inside and outside panels,

respectively, are formed with relatively large'rectangular crosssection, inwardly extending peripheral ribs 36, 38, which have outwardlyextending lateral flanges 40, 42, flush with their inner edges 44, 46.The outer walls 26, 28 are further formed with intermediate verticalandhorizontal ribs 48, 50 and 52, 54, respectively, which are of thesame cross section as the peripheral ribs, and which are aligned withthe external grooves 30, 32, respectively.

The inner edges of the vertical peripheral and intermediate ribs of theinside panels 22 are formed with centered, reduced cross section roundedvertical detent beads 56, and the inner edges of the same ribs of theoutside panels 24 are formed with concave vertical detent grooves 58.The beads 56 are made slightly wider than the grooves 58, so that thebeads snap securably into the grooves, when the panels are registeredwith each other and are pressed together, as shown in FIGURE 3, withtheir lateral flanges engaged.

The panels 22 and 24 are assembled together, by means of vertical andhorizontal inside and outside hollow rectangular bars 60, 62,respectively, whose forms are shown in detail in FIGURE 5. The outsidebars 62 have imperforate outside walls 64,'and inside walls 66 which areformed with centered longitudinal slots 68, which preferably open to theends of the bars. The slots 68 are of a width to be spread and securablyindented by the tapered shanks 70 of self-threading screws, havingenlarged tapered heads 72.

The inside assembly bars 60 have outside walls 74 which are imperforate,except for longitudinally spaced flared holes 74, adapted to receive theheads 72 of the screws. The inside bars 60 have inside walls 78 whichare formed with centered longitudinal slots 80, smaller in width thanthe shanks 70 of the screws, which preferably open to the ends of thebars 60.

As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the assembly bars 60, 62 are at least twiceas wide as the widths of the panel flanges 40, 42 so that half thewidths of these bars project outwardly beyond these flanges, and areavailable to effectively engage the same flanges of adjacent windowelements.

In addition, and, as shown in FIGURE 1, intermediate sets of verticaland horizontal assembly bars 82, 84, re.- spectively similar to theinside and outside bars, above described, extend between the verticaland horizontal sets of bars 60, 62. This arrangement entails separationof the sets of vertical bars 82 into sections 86, whose inner ends abutthe bars of the horizontal set 84.

The assembled window structure 18 is set into the window opening 16, andis secured in place, by any suitable means, as by means of mortar or thelike (not shown) placed in the external grooves 88 defined by theperipheral assembling bars and the space 14 between the wall elements 10and 12.

The window structure 18a, shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, requires a wall Wa,in which the window op ning 16a, is defined by wall elements 10a and12a, wherein the wall element 1 2a extends further into the opening thanthe wall element 10a.

The window structure 18a itself is the same in construction as thewindow structure 18 of FIGURES 1 to 6, except that the assembly barsthereof are replaced by compressible spring brackets 90, which extendlaterally outwardly from the sides of the window structure 18a, and arecompressed and jammed into the space 14a between the wall elements 10aand 12a.

The brackets 90 comprise elongated J-shaped resilient plates having flatarms 92, which merge, at one end,

'into sharply bent crooks 94, which are shorter thanthe arms 92 and areadapted to be jammed into the space 14a.

The window structure 18a is placed in the window opening 16a 'with theouter surfaces of one of the panels thereof engaged with the end surfaceof' the wall element 12a, and with its lateral flange 40a engaged withthe inner surface 96 of the wall element 12a.

The brackets 90 are secured to the lateral flanges 42a of the otherpanel of the window structure 18a, as by means of screws 98, passedthrough holes 99 in the arms 92 of the brackets and bearing against theouter sides of the flanges 42a of the other panel.

The chambers 100 and 100a of the. window structures 18 and 19a,respectively, are air-sealed because of the structure and assembly ofthe structures, whereby the structures are endowed with a high degree ofthermal insulation against the passage of heat or cold through thestructures.

It is to be noted that the terms inside and out side panels, etc., arenot necessarily limitative, but are relative, and the reversal of thesecomponents is contemplated as being within the scope of the presentinvention. In pursuance of this, the terms first and second, used in theappended claims, are employed merely for purposes of distinctiveseparation, in language, of the components so designated.

Although there have been shown and described preferred forms of theinvention, it is to be understood that the invention'is not necessarilyconfined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of andin the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated asbeing within the scope of the invention as defined by the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. 'In a thermal insulating window structure, a window elementcomprising registered and engaged first and second panels, said panelsof one-piece construction having outer walls, and integral intersectingribs extending inwardly from each of the outer walls, related one of thepanels having peripheral lateral flanges which are enribs having inneredges engaged with each other and 4 defining air-sealed chambers withthe outer walls, said gaged with each other, and assembling meansengaged with the exposed surfaces of the flanges, the inner edges of theribs of one panel being formed with detent grooves and the inner edgesof the ribs of the other panel being formed with integral detent ribs,the ribs being larger in cross section than the grooves and beingsnapped into the grooves.

2. In a thermal insulating window structure, a window element comprisingregistered and engaged first and second panels of one-piececonstruction, said panels having outer walls, and integral intersectingribs extending inwardly from each of the outer walls, related ones ofthe ribs having inner edges engaged with each other and definingair-sealed chambers with the outer walls, the inner edges of the ribs ofone panel being formed with detent grooves and the inner edges of theribs of the other panel being formed .with integral detent beads, saidbeads being larger in cross-section than and snapped into the grooves,said panels having peripheral lateral flanges which are engaged witheach other, and assembling means engaged with the exposed surfaces ofthe flanges, said assembling means comprising first and second spacedassembly bars, and means extending between said first and second barsfor clamping said bars about said flange.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 650,209 5/1900White 265 X 1,821,343 9/1931 Honer 52-3l4 1,984,924 12/ 1934 Fox.2,164,138 6/1939 London 18934 2,245,047 6/ 1941 Odell 523 14 3,002,23610/1961 Humphner 20-40 FOREIGN PATENTS 513,587 2/1955 Italy.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Examiner.

1. IN A THERMAL INSULATING WINDOW STRUCTURE, A WINDOW ELEMENT COMPRISINGREGISTERED AND ENGAGED FIRST AND SECOND PANELS, SAID PANELS OF ONE-PIECECONSTRUCTION HAVING OUTER WALLS, AND INTEGRAL INTERSECTING RIBSEXTENDING INWARDLY FROM EACH OF THE OUTER WALLS, RELATED ONE OF THE RIBSHAVING INNER EDGES ENGAGED WITH EACH OTHER AND DEFINING AIR-SEALEDCHAMBERS WITH THE OUTER WALLS, SAID PANELS HAVING PERIPHERAL LATERALFLANGES WHICH ARE ENGAGED WITH EACH OTHER, AND ASSEMBLING MEANS ENGAGED